Coating-machine



E. NORDELL,

COATING MACHINE.

APPLlCATlON FILED DEC-18, 1918.

Patented Dec. 2,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. NORDELL,

COATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 18. 1918.

Patented Dec. 2,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 ESKEL NORDELIJ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COATING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

Application filed December 18, 1918. Serial No. 267,236.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ESKEL NORDELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Coating-Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to improvements in appliances for coatingreceptacles, containers,or vessels of various kinds, but concerns moreparticularly, though not exclusively, the grease-proofing of containersor cans made of fibrous or. porous materials suchas pasteboard,straw-board, paper, etc. The viscous, somewhat syrupy, grease-proofcoating material, containing, for example, gelatin, glycerin, and waterhaving a tendency to entrap and hold air-bubbles, is applied in Warm, Iliquid condition which causes, or tends to cause the expulsion ofairbubbles from the pores of the fibrous walls of the receptaclesrendering difficult the application of a smooth even coating free fromholes therethrough or various imperfections therein because if anybubbles or air-pockets are permitted to remain on the surface of thewall beneath the coating, the latter,

in contracting during cooling, forms a thin film which is likely tobreak over such bubbles on handling producing serious defects oruncoated spots at such points, thus destroying the desired absolutegrease-proof condition.

. One leading object, therefore, of the present invention is to so coatthe pasteboard or paper cans as to avoid the presence of theseobjectionable bubbles, which, of course, owing to the viscous or syrupyconsistency of the coating material have a decided tendency to form andto persist. Furthermore, such coating should be thin by reason of thecost of its ingredients which obviously renders more diflicult thesecuring of the perfect results required. The use of the new applianceand its method of operation, however, meet all these needs.

In employing the preferred embodiment of the invention the fibrous ormore or less pervious cylindrical container is revolved while inverted,its bottom-wall being uppermost and its open mouth disposed downward,and during such rotation a plurality of streams of the warm, viscouscoating so lution, all preferably in the same vertical plane, are playedin surplus quantity in inclined directions on to different portions ofthe inner surfaces of the container, the ex cess draining down out ofthe open mouth .and being thrown outwardly therefrom by centrifugalforce away from the bearing for 'the pasteboard-orpaper can holder orsupport. All the streams are conveniently delivered under pressure froma single, multistream nozzle located below and at one side of the can,one stream str1k1ng the under surface of the bottom of the can (now atthe top because of the-reversed position of the can) slightly beyond thecenter so that there will be no interference with the ready outbottomand down the side-Wall, the receptacle draining at the same time that itis being coated.

Owing to the action of centrifugal force the heavier liquid is held orpressed directly against the inner surface of the revolving wall therebythoroughly coating it, while the lighter bubble-charged portion of theliquid flows down the inner surface of such coating, the bubbles beingwashed or flushed away by the excess material, the

drained liquid,of course, being saved and used over again.

The discharge openings of the nozzle must be of the proper size as theliquid streams should not be so small as to twist and entrap air norshould they be moving at too high a velocity. The proper size ofopenings and the velocity of "the streamscan easily be determined byexperiment.

The inner face of the can or container having been thus coated ininverted position, its holder is automatically released permitting theholder and can to assume a-more nearly horizontal position with itsmouth outward during the remainder of" the revolution, thus moreeffectively throwing off the excess coating material, perfecting thesmoothness and evenness of the coat, and preventing a thickened dripedge of the can.

In order that those skilled in this art ma have a full and completeunderstanding of this invention and its various functional andstructural advantages, 1 have illustrated a preferred and desirableembodiment of the same in the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification and through out the various views of which like reference characters refer to the same parts.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a partial elevation and partial section of the entireappliance;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of that portion of the appliance shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. at is a section on line 4-% of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 illustrates the lock or.latch device for the container or canholder.

In these drawings 1 have characterized the pasteboard, fiber, paper, orother more or less permeable or penetrable container or can with thereference character 10, and from Fig. 1, in which such can is shown incentral longitudinal section, it will be clear that such vessel orcontainer has the usual cylindrical side-wall 11 and an inset orinserted cup-shaped bottom-wall 12, the particular style of container,however, being of practically no importance.

Such can is adapted to be held by friction in inverted position with itsopen mouth downward in the grasp of a plurality of bow-springs 13, 13 onthe inside of a ring or annular holder or support 14:, somewhat largerin size than the can it is adapted to accommodate, mounted fiXedlv on apairof parallel spaced .arms

15, 15 pivoted at 16-, 16, to the upper end portions of a pair ofupright rods 17 18.

screwed at their lower ends into holes in a plate 19 fastened on the topsurface of the hub 20 of a horizontally-disposed grooved pulley 21revoluble on a hollow stationary pipe or shaft 22 maintained securely invertical position by an apertured support 23 through which it extendsfastened by screws 24, 2%, to a cross-bar'25 mounted on a table 26beneath its top 27. i l

A belt 28 drives pulley 21 from a similar driving pulley 29 loose on anupright shaft 30 revoluble in suitable bearings 31, .31, and rotated bymeans of a worm-wheel 32 revolved by a worm (not shown) on a powersha-ftrotated by a pulley 34 driven from any suitable source of power, such asan electrio-motor, by a belt (not shown). Shaft 30 is adapted to beoperatively connected to and disconnected from pulley '29 by a clutch 35of any ordinary or Suitable structure operated by a link 36 pivotedthereto and to an arm 37 fulcrumed at 38 on the standard 39 on the tabletop.

The companion or cooperative clutch-elements 35 are normally heldseparated or intically slidable in a bearing 43 mounted on.

the under face of the table top and its lower end is bent laterally atll to provide a linger cooperating with a'notched disk 45 on ahorizontal cam-shaft 4G revolublc in bearings l7, l7, and rotated by aworm-wheel 13 thereon driven by a worm 18 (see Fig. 2) on a verticalshaft 49 rotatable in 'bearings 50. 50 and equipped with a. pulley 51driven by a belt 52 co-act-ing with a grooved pulley portion 53 of thehub of pulley 29.

Obviously, therefore, when arm 3? is depressed momentarily by handclutch 35 is rendered operative, the can is rotated by the meansdescribed, and the clutch cannot again become inoperative ordisconnected until the notched disk 45 has made one complete revolution,finger ii in the meantime holding rod 41 depressed by riding on thesurface of the disk 45. Thus in each actuation the can to be coated willmake apredetermined number of revolutions, its rotation will beautomatically stopped when, under the action of spring 40, finger 44ascends into the recess of disk 45 as soon as it comes into registertherewith.

The coating or spraying mechanism comprises the followinginstrumentalities. On the upper screw-threaded end of the upright pipe22 and below the can and at one side of its center, so as not tointerfere with the upward and outward swinging of the can hereinafterdescribed, a multi-jet nozzle is fitted having four openings ordischarge apertures through which the coating liquid is played underpressure onto the inner surfaces of the can during its rotation aboutits own aXis. As is clearly shown in Fig. 1, one of these inclinedstreams 61 impinges against the under surface of the can bottom-wall 12just beyond its geometrical center, a second stream 62 plays into thecorner where the side and bottom walls meet, and the two remainingstreams 63 and (ii engage the inner surface of the cylindrical wall atdifferent points or heights, the four streams preferably being locatedin substantially the same vertical plane.

The viscous orcohesive coating liquid is maintained Warm in ahot-water-jacketed reservoir orsupply tank 65 from which itis forced tothe nozzle through a pipe 66 The nozzle and-a portion of the can re-jvolving mechanism are surrounded by a casing or housing 71 having abottom-wall 72 with an upstanding, circular flange 73 bordering itscentral aperture through which the driving and operating parts extend.The excess or surplus coating liquid draining from the can is preventedfrom coming into contact with the driving mechanism below the table by astationary, conical shield 74 secured to or forming part of the nozzlemounting. Below this is a larger guard 7 5 mounted on and rotatable withthe supporting posts 17 and 18 and plate 19 and having a marginaldepending flange or rim 76 overlapping and outside of flange 7 3.

The coating liquid, in casing 71 discharged from the can drainstherefrom through a pipe 77 into a settling or separating tank 78,maintained at the desired temperature by a suita'blehot-water.jacket,from which it is forced by a pump 79 of convenient construction into thesupplytank 65, whereby none of the liquid is lost. In this tank 78 theenveloped or inclosed air-bubbles to a large extent are permitted toseparate from the liquid and inasmuch as the liquid pumped into the tankis drawn from the lower part of the receptacle 78, such portion is freefrom froth or bubbles.

Cam-shaft 46, as is clearly illustrated, is provided with asuitably-shaped cam 80 coactingwith a right-angle extension 81 of thestem 82 of the self-closing valve 68, whereby the valve will be openeddownwardly soon after the rotation of the cam begins by the camdepressing parts 81 and 82, the cam being so shaped that the valve ispermitted to close automatically by the action of its spring (not shown)before the cans revolution ceases.

In order to release the hinged ring holder and its can so that they mayswing outwardlyand upwardly under the action of,

centrifugal force after the completion of the liquid-applying process tomore effectively and efficiently eliminate or expel the surplus liquid,the post 17 is made hollow to receive a round sliding rod 90 normallypressed down by a coiled spring 91 housed in the top part of the cavityandpressing on the top end of the rod. Its descent is lim ited by across-pin 92- therein received in a longitudinal slot 93 in the post.Suchtransverse pin is of suflicient length to engage an open-top recessor notch 94 in a block 95 on the adjacent outer face of the ring holder.Thus, under usual conditions, the pin is held in such recess by theaction of spring 91, locking the holder against turning on its hingemounting 16, 16 but in no way interferingwith its rotation about its ownaxis. To release or unlock the ring holder and its can upon thecompletion of the liquid application, cam-shaft 46 is equipped with acam 96 acting on a spring-depressed rod 97 vertically slidable in abearing member 98 fastened to the under surfaceof the table top, andcarrying at its upper end a slightly-inclined, curved shoe or plate 99with which the lower end of rod 90 is adapted to coact. When rod 97 israised by the cam, holder 14 and its can 10 are unlocked and they arefree to swing into the inclined or more elevated and outward positionshown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Upon cessation of the rotation, theholder and its can rock or swing down to a' nearly normal uprightposition by reason of their.

weight and are locked to their now stationary rotary support by a slighttouch of the fingers when about to remove the treated can.

The operation of the appliance takes place practically as follows:

The operator by hand inserts the can 10 to be coated upside down in theannular holder or support 14 in which position it is held by friction bythe inwardly pressing action of the plurality of bow springs 13. Thensuch attendant depresses the lever or arm 37 which clutches theconstantly-rotating shaft 30 to the twopulleys 29and 53 causing theirrotation and by the connecting .belts driving hollow shaft or sleeve 20and cam-shaft 46. The descent of arm 37 forci bly lowers rod 41 removingits finger 44 from the recess in disk 45 which, of course,-

begins to turn with shaft 46. Obviously, the release of the manualpressure "on arm 37 now has no influence on the clutch which for adefinite period is maintained active by finger 44 riding on the edge ofits companion disk. This rather rapid rotation of sleeve 20 and the canand its holder will continue until the cam-shaft has completed onerevolution, whereupon the finger rises into the notch of disk 45 underthe influence of spring 40 releasing the clutch and lock- .ing thecam-shaft against rotation, but of course the rendering of the clutchinactive causes a cessation of such rotation. v

Soon. after the can begins to rotate on its own axis in this manner, cam80 opens valve 68 and the warm, viscous, liquid, coating material isdischarged under pressure for a definite period of time through thenozzle openings against the inner surfaces of the can in excess quantityto assure complete coating, the surplus flowing down the wall of the canand being thrown out of its mouth by centrifugal force.

By way of example, I may mention that in actual practice I have foundthat two hundred revolutions per minute for the can is suitable and thatthe streams of liquid may play with good results for fifteen to twentyseconds but, of course, it will be understood that the invention is noway limited to such figures.

The more or less syrupy or viscous liquid has a tendency to entrapair-bubbles and similar bubbles are also seemingly expelled from theporous walls of the can by the entrance of the liquid into their pores,but due to the action of centrifugal force on the heavier liquid, notcharged with such air globules, it is pressed or forced against theinner surface of the can leaving the other air-laden or more frothyportion inwardly thereof, which latter is washed or rinsed away by thesurplus flowing down the surface of the container. Stated somewhatdifferently the liquid is subjected to the action of centrifugal forceto separate the same into two parts or layers, one free from airbubblesand the other containing such globules. lAt the same time the formerheavier stratum is pressed by the same force against the surface to becoated and the lighter air-charged part is flowed or flushed away.

The stream 61 after striking the under surface of the inverted bottom ofthe can continues its outward flow uninterruptedly effectively coatingthe surface to which it is applied. There is just enough of such streamwhich spatters or flows rearwardly to cover the exact central portion ofthe surface, which might otherwise remain uncoated. If such stream weredirected at the other streams.

exact center of the surface there would likely be an excess backwardflow with possibly an undesirable trapping or encompassing of airparticles. Stream 62 assures that an adequate quantity of the liquidwill reach the corner or joint, and streams 63 and 64 supplement thework of each other and of the Inasmuch as all of these streams are inthe same vertical plane their individual excess quantities of coatingliquid flow down in the same general path and unitedly and conjointlyassure the complete coating operation without air-bubble defects Shields74, 75, and 73, afford complete.

protection to the bearings and other parts and the drained liquid passesto receptacle "'78 where its air bubbles escape before the liquid ispumped into supply tank 65.

At; the proper time cam 80 permits the valve to close and thereafter cam96 raises shoe 99 so that rod 90 during its rotation about the axis ofthe can and its holder is lifted releasing lock 92, 95 thus permittingthe ring holder and can to swing upwardly and outwardly under the poweror operation of centrifugal force about the hinge screws 16, 16, intothe inclined or more nearly horizontal position shown in dotted lines inFig. 2. This position of the can while revolving permits the overpluscoating material to be more easily expelled forcibly from the interiorof the can and prevents the formation of a thickened drip edge on thecan. In actual practice such whirling of the can may continue forfifteen to twenty seconds to advantage not only throwing off the excessor surplus material and bubbles but possibly also smoothing and eveningthe coating in so doing. When this operation has continued thepredetermined time, the notch in disk 45 arrives in register with finger44: thus allowing rod 41 to ascend under the pressure of spring 40thereby separating the clutch-elements, stopping the rotation of allparts except shaft 30 and its guiding mechanism, and permitting theholder and its can to swing down to a nearly normal position as shown inFig. 1, the holder becoming again latched or locked to its support by aslight pressure of the fingers when removing the treated can.

In this simple but effective way, the po-' rous or fibrous containersmay be greaseproofed by a suitable coating free from blemishes ordefects.

By those skilled in this art it will be appreciated that this inventionis not limited and restricted to the precise and exact mechanicaldetails of construction presented because these may be varied withincom-- paratively wide limits without departure fromthe heart and essenceof the invention and without the sacrifice of any of its substantialbenefits and advantages. Stated somewhat differently, the invention issusceptible of a variety of embodiments and is, therefore, not limitedto any particular one.

I claim:

1. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto support and revolve the container to be coated in inverted positionwith its open mouth downward and substantially unobstructed permitting.free drainage from the lower edge of the container, and means to apply asurplus quantity of the coating liquid to the inner surface of suchcontainer during its rotation, the coating material flowing down theinner surface of the container, the excess draining out of its mouth,substantially as described.

2. In. an appliance scribed, the combination of means to support andrevolve the container to be coated in inverted position with its openmouth downof the character de- 7 eeann ward andsubstantiallyunobstructed permitting free drainage from the lower edgeof the container, and means to play one or more upwardly inclinedstreams of thecoating liquid in surplus quantity against the innersurface of the container during its r0- tation, the coating materialflowing down the inner surface of the container, the excess draining outof its mouth, substantially as described.

3. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto support and revolve the container to be coated in inverted positionwith its open mouth downward and substantially unobstructed permittingfree drainage from the lower edge of the container, and means to play aplurality of upwardly inclined streams of the coating liquid insubstantially the same vertical plane in surplus quantity against theinner surfaces of such container during its rotation, the coatingmaterial flowing down the inner surface of the container, the excessdraining out of its mouth, substantially as described.

an appliance of the character described, the combination of means tosupport and revolve thecontainer to be coated in inverted position withits open mouth downward and substantially unobstructed permitting freedrainage from the lower edge of the container, and means to play astream of coating liquid against the under surface of the invertedbottom wall of the container slightly to one side of its center duringthe rotation of the container, substantially as described.

5. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto support and revolve the container to be coated in inverted positionwith its open mouth downward and substantially unobstructed permittingfree drainage from the lower edge of the container, and means to play aninclined stream of coating liquid against the under surface of theinverted bottom wall of the container slightly beyond its center duringrotation of the container, substantially as described.

6. an appliance of the character des ribed, the combination of means torevolve the container to be coated in inverted position, means to play astream of coating liquid against the under surface of the in: vertedbottom-wall of the container, and means to play a stream of such liquidon the joint of the bottom and side walls, substantially as described.

7. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto support and revolve the container to be coated in inv verted positionwith its open mouth downward and substantially unobstructed permlttingfree drainage from the lower edge of the container, and means durmg suchrotation to play a stream of coating liquid on the inside of the jointof the bottom and side walls of the container, substantially asdescribed.

8. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto support and revolve the container to be coated in inverted positionwith its open mouth downward and substantially unobstructed permittingfree drainage from the lower edge of the container, and means duringsuch rotation to play an inclined stream of coating liquid on the insideof the joint of the bottom and side walls of the container, substantially as described.

9. In a appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto revolve the container to be coated in inverted position, means toplay an inclined stream of the coating liquid against the under surfaceof the inverted bottom-wall of the container slightly beyondits center,and means to play an inclined stream of such coating material on theinside of the joint of the bottom and side walls of the container,substantially as described.

10. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto support and revolve the container to be coated in inverted positionwith its open mouth down ward and substantially unobstructed permittingfree drainage of the excess coating liquid from the lower edge ofthecontainer and means to apply a viscous liquid coating material to theinner surface of said container during such rotation, the speed ofrotation being such as to cause the heavier liquid substantially freefrom air bubbles, to be next to the surface to be coated by reason ofits greater centrifugal force, the lighter bubble-charged portion oftheliquid to be located inwardly thereof by reason of its lessercentrifugal force, substantially as described.

11. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto support and revolve the container to be coated in inverted positionwith its open mouth downward and substantially unobstructed permittingfree drainage from the lower edge of the container, and means to apply aviscous liquid coating material in surplus quantity to the inner surfaceof said container during such rotation, the speed of rotation being suchas to cause the heavier liquid substantially free from air bubbles to benext to the surface to be coated by reason of its greater centrifugalforce and the lighter bubble-charged portion of the liquid to be locatedinwardly thereof by reason of its lesser centrifugal force and washedaway by the draining of the surplus material, substantially asdescribed.

12. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto revolve the container to be coated, a nozzle outside or more streamsof the coating liquid against the inner surface of said container duringthe rotation of the latter, and means to supply said nozzle with liquidcoating material under pressure, substantially as described.

13. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto revolve the container to be coated in inverted position with its openmouth disposed downwardly, a nozzle below said container constructed todirect one ormore streams of liquid coating material against'the innersurface of said container during the rotation of the latter, and meansto supply said nozzle with such liquid coating material under pressure,substantially as described. 14. In an appliance of the characterdescribed, the combination of means to support and to revolve for apredetermined period the container to be coated in inverted positionwith its open mouth downward and substantially unobstructed permittingfree drainage from the lower edge of the container, and means to coatthe interior of such container during a portion only of its period ofrotation, the coated container revolving after the coating operation toexpel the surplus coating material by centrifugal force, substantiallyas described. 15. In an appliance ofthe character described, thecombination of meansto coat the surface of a container while the latteris in one position, and means to revolve said container in a differentangular position after the coating operation to remove the surpluscoating material by centrifugal force, substantially as described.

16. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto coat the inner surface of a container in inverted position with itsopen mouth downward, and means to revolve the coated container in a morenearly horizontal position, whereby the surplus coating. material maybensaaeee thrown out by centrifugal force, substantially as described.

17. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto rotate the container to be internally coated in in-- the container tobe coated, a hinged mounting for said holder on said rotary support,means to lock said mounting to prevent rocking thereof, means to operatesaid lock, and means to apply a coating material to a container held insaid holder, substantially as described.

19. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of aholder adapted to support the container to be coated in invertedposition with its open mouth downward, a support, means to rotatesaidsupport, a hinge mounting for said holder on said rotary support,means to lock said mounting to prevent rocking thereof, means 'tooperate said lock, a nozzle below the container held in said holder, andmeans to discharge the coating liquid through said nozzle against theinner surface of the container while its holder is locked, substantiallyas described.

20. In an appliance of the character described, the combination of meansto rotate the container to'be coated in inverted position for apredetermined period, and automatically acting means to play the coatingliquid on the inner surface of the rotating container for a period lessthan that of its rotation, substantially as" described.

ESKEL NQRDELL.

